Many applications use dark patterns which trick users into taking unintended actions. This raises the question of how software should be designed to be fair and honest with users. The project develops a new approach based on concept design that provides criteria for dark designs and suggests design moves that meet the developer’s needs while respecting the user. The project will explore dark patterns as not just deceptions in the user interface but also how design concepts fail to meet user expectations; show that the behavior of some applications actions is consistent in some instances and divergent in others; and for concrete examples of dark patterns, devise redesigns offering similar behavior but undesirable effects. I also develop standards for commonly used concepts in applications.

I am participating in SuperUROP because I want to gain in-depth research experience in software design that centers on user experience. I have taken software courses that I enjoyed and I would like to deepen my understanding of their applications to real-world problems in a research setting. I hope to learn how to work on a long-term research project successfully.